In Screaming Color
by darkmystress00
Summary: Everyone knows the world is black and white. Colors are just a thing from long told myths about soulmates and destiny. Or that was what Beth had always been told. Now, she's staring at a world of color and has no idea which one of her rescuers could possibly be the key that unlocked this wonderful new world. **Inspired In Living Color, but is a completely different story**


Beth sat quietly by the fire watching the yellow and orange flames crackle and twist in the dimming light as the sun set over the horizon. When she'd woken up this morning things had been simple. Her Mama and Daddy had still been alive, along with her older sister Maggie. She'd been happy, but most importantly…when she woke up this morning, her world was still black and white.

It was common knowledge that the world was black and white for everyone (even the walkers mulling around had seen black and white when they'd still been alive and been human.) The world was black and white for everyone and that was just fact. There was this myth that people liked to tell, a myth that said, back in the old days (before the dead started rising and killing every living thing they touched) that once you met your soul mate you could see the hidden colors of the world. Colors like reds, and purples, and blues. God how Beth had longed to see blue. She had always day dreamed about what blue might look like. But Beth, like everyone else still left in this rotting world, had just assumed that the myth was just that…a myth. Something people liked to tell to make themselves feel better. They blamed the fact that the walkers had killed most of the population for the reason that no one saw these mysterious colors, but Beth had always had a deep seated belief that the world was just black and white, and colors were just made up nonsense to try to turn a shit situation into something tolerable.

Now, staring at the beautiful colors of the flames and the burning embers of the campfire, Beth realized exactly how wrong she was. Her eyes flick around the group. She really should be grateful to them. She really should. She was all alone in the world now. She replayed the memory in her mind.

 _"Bethy…you go make sure your daddy gets those horses penned before it gets dark." Her mama's voice floated out to the porch where Beth sat, knees curled up almost under her chin, as she wrote in a notebook that was sitting in her lap. She sighed, set her notebook and pen down to the side and stood, making her way down to the barn where her daddy was penning the horses for the night. She heard the neighing and thrashing of the horses before she sensed anything was amiss. Opening the doors to the barn, she called out to her daddy, noticing as she was halfway inside that he was no where to be found. Suddenly she heard her name being screamed across the field separating the white house from the old red barn._

 _Turning on her heel she stifled the urge to bolt, watching in horror as her mother, sister, and father were losing ground to the mega herd coming up hot on their heels. Maggie let off a round from a pistol she carried ALWAYS, turning only to barely aim and pull the trigger. The noise startled Beth into action and she felt her feet carrying her towards her family. She watched as her mother tripped, going down to her knees and crawling for all the was worth, trying and failing to escape the clutches of the gurgling dead behind her. Maggie's horrified scream hit Beth's ears just as her feet froze beneath her. Beth watched as her mother, screaming and crying, disappeared beneath a sea of the undead. She felt her insides turn to ice as she watched her father turn as if to save her, losing valuable ground away from the monsters._

 _Maggie grabbed his arm, and tried to drag him along, but Beth knew there was no way Hershel Greene, beloved husband of Annette Greene, would just turn and high-tail it away when his wife was being ripped asunder before his very eyes. Hershel pulled his arm away from Maggie, looking towards the barn where Beth stood, still frozen by the horror of it all, and she knew. She knew this would be the last time she would see her father alive. He pulled Maggie into a quick hug and then shoved her away, towards Beth with a quick "Look after your sister!" which Beth wasn't sure if it was meant for her, or Maggie._

 _"Beth! Run! Run for the woods. I'm right behind you!" Maggie screamed as she ran towards her. Beth's last vision of her father was him standing tall, facing down the mob, shooting off round after round from a handgun. Beth ran. She ran until she didn't recognize the trees anymore. She ran until she couldn't hear Maggie crunching leaves and branches behind her. She ran until she couldn't breathe. She ran until she couldn't see around the tears in her eyes. She ran until her legs gave out and she crumbled into a sobbing mess in the middle of the mud. And that was exactly how they found her…_

 _"Hey…" a soft touch on her shoulder and her eyes whipped up and took in the faces of the group surrounding her, guns out but not drawn. She stared at each of them before she suddenly realized she could see their clothes, covered with grime and dingy with wear, had colors she'd never seen before. Greens, and off-whites, and musty blues. That had been when her world turned upside down._

"Hey." A boy, younger than her (maybe early teenager) with brown hair sat down next to her. He handed her a half empty can of beans. "It isn't much, but it's all we got for right now. At least until we can find somewhere to set up camp and do a run." She nodded, delicately taking the can. "I'm Carl." He said as he watched her take a small bite. He pointed to different people in their group. "The woman with the sword is Michonne." He motioned to a woman with the deepest, prettiest brown skin she'd ever laid eyes on. She was holding a little pink baby girl, with hair a russet brown that almost looked like it had red in it if the light hit it just right. "The baby is my sister Judith. Our mom died having her. The group kind of took on different roles to help out with her after." His hand shifted to an older woman, with silver hair (a color Beth was very familiar with) and the most shockingly green eyes. Beth wanted to just sit and stare at her eyes to memorize the color, but knew better of it. "That's Carol. She's kind of the den mother of the group. She lost her daughter a while back and has been having a hard time coping." Beth nodded numbly, her mind floating back to her family, lost to her now. "That's my dad, Rick, with the beard, and Glenn is the guy talking to him." Glenn was an asian kid that was probably about the same age as Maggie.

"Maggie woulda liked him." She mumbled softly. Carl just stared at her. "Maggie's my sister. She'da liked him."

"My dad?" He cried sounding almost affronted. Beth couldn't help it. She let out a peel of laughter she didn't know she still had buried inside her.

"No!" She smiled and motioned with her finger. "Glenn. My sister is the same age." Her eyes danced around the little clearing and landed on the most striking set of blue eyes she'd ever seen. Yeah, she liked the color blue the most, and it was because of those eyes. "Who's that?" She asked softly, her eyes dropping down to the can in her hands and away from Mr. Piercing-Blue-Eyes.

"That? That's Daryl. He doesn't talk much, but he's the best hunter and tracker out there. He's how we found you. Said he could hear you running through the brush a mile away." She chanced a glance up at him once more, unnerved to see that he was still staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face. She nodded, but she didn't know what for, and continued to stare down at the can of beans, now empty.

"Thanks…for the food, and…for letting me stay with you."

"You're welcome." She heard Rick call Carl and watched as he wordlessly stood and walked over to him. That left Beth alone, with Daryl Piercing-Blue-Eyes, still staring holes into her head. She chose to stare into the fire some more, rather than stare at his muscular arms, or think about how his hair was so deep brown that it almost looked black. She tried desperately not to think about how soft the black leather of his vest might feel under her fingers, or how the fletchings of his crossbow bolts were the most electric orange and green she ever could have imagined.

It wasn't long before they were snuffing out the brilliant orange and red coals, and settling in for a night of sleep. Rick was taking the first watch, and letting everyone else get some sleep. Beth felt a shiver wrack her body as she wrapped her arms around her middle and pulled her legs up to try to conserve some of her heat. She hadn't grabbed anything before she left the farm (there hadn't been any time) and it was starting to cool down now that autumn was rolling on in. She rested her head back against a tree and let out a pent up breath. Something soft and thick brushed her side and she jerked her eyes open to stare up at Daryl who was standing next to her holding out what appeared to be either a blanket, or a poncho. She blinked a couple times and just stared at it. "Take it. You're cold'n need it more'n me." He grumbled. Her hands came up and grasped the soft fabric, pulling it over her body. "Looks, better on you anyway." She barely caught him whisper it under his breath before he turned to walk away.

"It's red." She said simply. He turned around and looked at her.

"Yeah…didn't realize it until…this afternoon." He was shifting uncomfortably as she stared at him and she wanted to smile at him. "You can see it too?" She nodded and tried to smile awkwardly at him. "Huh…just figured bein' a Dixon that would be broken too." He looked at her, one corner of his lips quirking up in the barest of a smile. "Glad it's not." She patted the ground next to her.

"Sit with me Mr. Dixon. Tell me all about your favorite colors." He sat down awkwardly next to her.

"So far…I think I'm leanin' towards yellow." She looked at him curiously and his hand came up to finger a loose lock of her hair. She smiled shyly.  
"Well, yellow's nice…but blue is the best by far." He blinked, a slow smile quirking his lips. Gently she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. "You know what I'm really excited for?" a quiet 'mm' sounded by her head. "To see the sunset and all the colors I've been told about. Think it's really as pretty as all the stories say?"

"Dunno…" She could see his cheeks tinting red and knew he was working up the courage to say something to her. "But it can't be as pretty as you." He finally rumbled out in a rush. She smiled softly, a quiet secret little smile. "Don't tell nobody I said that." and she could tell he was just trying to lighten the mood and had no idea what he was doing. It was cute and endearing and she loved it, because honestly, she had no idea either.

"Don't worry…your secret is safe with me." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she felt her eyes drift closed, the horrors of the day fading from her memory as she drifted into a vivid and beautifully colored dream filled with deep blue eyes and almost-black hair.


End file.
